mascarpone cheese scones

I have never had luck with scones in the past. I’ve tried my hand at them a couple of times, and for some reason my classic cream scones came out of the oven kind of flat and unexciting, not flaky enough, and sometimes burnt along the edges. There was another scone recipe I had high hopes for, flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg and classic fall flavors, but the spices got lost in the dough and they came out bland. And I think that’s when I kind of gave up on scones. Because after all, I always have biscuits.

But at some point in the past few weeks, that desire to find the perfect scone recipe started creeping back up, and I had no choice but to make these, a basic scone recipe that I thought would benefit from the mellow addition of some mascarpone (and would be a good way to use the half container of mascarpone that was left in my fridge). They have come out perfectly every time I have made them, which was a miracle to me considering my low scone success rate. They freeze (and bake straight from the freezer) perfectly. They are butter and creamy but crumbly at the same time, and really don’t need any addition because they are so light and flaky and flavorful on their own (although sometimes I can’t resist some extra butter along with some jelly or honey). They are sweet from the sugar and cream, but tangy from the mascarpone. Basically, they are breakfast gold.

The mascarpone in these scones gives them some extra creaminess as well as a nice slightly tangy flavor that balances perfectly against the scones' sweetness. These are also perfect scones to freeze. Make them the night before, freeze them, and then bake them from the freezer the next morning.

Ingredients

2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, cold

1/2 cup (118 g) heavy cream

1/2 cup (113 g) mascarpone cheese, room temperature

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small cubes, and using a fork or pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly.

In a small bowl, stir together the cream and mascarpone until the mixture is mostly smooth (if your mascarpone isn't quite soft enough, all of it might not mix in, but this is fine). Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture, and gently stir together until it forms a dough. You might need to use your hands some to get the last bits of flour incorporated.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it out to a rectangle that is about 3/4 inch to 1 inch high. Cut the dough into 6 large rectangles and place on the prepared baking sheet. (This is a great time to freeze the scones, too. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer, and when they are frozen place them in a zip top plastic bag. You can bake them straight from the freezer--just add about 5 minutes to your cooking time.)

Bake for 20 minutes, until they are slightly golden brown on top. Remove from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes, and then serve warm.